White

The bright white came suddenly and without warning. James found himself in it, alone and uneasy, no solid ground or walls that he could see, though his position did not change from what it had been only moments before. He had just stood up to help his friend get the food for the party that was arriving at the door. He had blinked, and suddenly he was in this empty white space. It seemed to go on for miles in every direction, no end or horizon in sight. He did not feel as though he were floating, however. His feet continued to be planted on solid ground, even though he could see none, or even feel the ground underneath him. He kneeled down and placed his hand on the "floor," where it simply stopped, unable to move any further, though he could not feel the resistance.

"Hello, James," came a voice. James bolted upright, his head swinging wildly from side to side as he searched for the source, but still he saw nothing but white. He wondered if he had become blind. "Today is a special day for you, it seems." The voice came from every direction at once, completely surrounding him, and it didn't sound like anyone he had ever met before. "You may find that this will bring you into a new era of your life. I hope that you do with it something good."

"Who are you?" James wanted to cry out. But no voice came from his lips. He reached for his mouth and throat, but he seemed unable to reach him. The panic began to set in. Not knowing where he was, or what was happening, or who was speaking to him, James wondered if something had happened. Had he died? If so, how? Shouldn't he have known? Nothing made any sense. He remembered everything clearly. He and his friends had been talking about girls, as they often did. They had been drinking. A tv had been on in the background, though he hadn't been paying enough attention on it to know what was showing. He had simply gone from one moment being there, to the next being... here. Wherever here was.

James could feel a presence beginning to encircle him. He could only think that he must have been going crazy. There was no other explanation. Someone had slipped something into his drink. Yeah, that was it. That would explain the tiger materializing in front of him. And the dragon. And the molerat. He was hallucinating, that was it. He was high on something fierce.

"We wonder what you will do with us," said the molerat. It was the same voice that James had heard moments before. "Will you accept us?" the tiger asked. The same voice. "Or reject us?" The dragon. The same voice.

James wanted to ask them what they were talking about. What anything they were saying was supposed to mean. But it was as if he were as whitewashed as the empty space around him. He felt as though he barely existed. That only fed the panic more. He wanted to reach out to the creatures, to touch them, to see if any of this was real, but he was becoming ever more frozen in spot. He could no longer move his head to look around. He wondered if something had grabbed him. Locked him in place. And if they had, what did they intend to do with him...?

"Time is running up, James." He couldn't tell which creature was speaking at that moment. Maybe they all were. Together. "It's time to make a choice. What are we to you? Are we anything at all?"

James shut his eyes tight. The contrast of the white world on his black inner eyelids was staggering. He felt as though he were falling backwards, flying through space, faster and faster until he was being ripped apart. He didn't dare open his eyes and see what was happening. He wasn't sure which would be worse: the stark whiteness of nothing, or things rushing past him as he fell, letting him see how near or far his landing was.

"Yo, James." This voice was familiar. It had better be. It had spoken only a short moment ago, asking James to help get the food. "You feeling alright?"

James opened his eyes. He was still in the house, just having gotten off the couch, and he was still with his friends. They all looked at him, somewhat concerned. James looked at them all, unsure for a moment what to say.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he finally said. "Just one of those... you know... you stand up to fast, and..."

James' friend smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah, I gotcha. Come on, let's go."

James nodded and, rubbing his forehead, walked out the door to get the food.